This invention relates to a liquid crystal display device of the matrix type as referred to in the art. The liquid crystal display device is alternatively referred to briefly as a liquid crystal display.
Such a liquid crystal display device is useful in a personal computer and a word processor and is driven by a driver to visually display a pattern which may be letters and/or figures. In a manner which will later be described in detail, the liquid crystal display device comprises a first and a second substrate, as of glass, a liquid crystal layer between the substrates, a plurality of scan or scanner electrodes between the liquid crystal layer and the first substrate, and a plurality of data electrodes between the liquid crystal layer and a preselected one of the substrates. It is convenient herein to understand that the driver is included in the liquid crystal display device. The scan and the data electrodes are arranged in a matrix fashion to define a great number of crossovers or dots. The liquid crystal display device has a certain display capacity which is defined by the number of dots, namely, by a product of the numbers of the scan and the data electrodes.
In a matrix-type liquid crystal display device of a large display capacity, the driver becomes complicated and must have a large number of driver outputs which should be connected to the respective scan and data electrodes. The liquid crystal display device therefore becomes expensive and has a low reliability.
Various approaches are already known to reduce the number of such driver outputs for a facsimile recorder, an image sensor, and like devices. The approaches are, however, not applicable to a liquid crystal display device for the reason which will become clear below. In fact, some of the approaches are directed toa liquid crystal display device. For example, an approach is reported by Paul R. Malmberg et al in "SID 86 Digest" as paper number 16.2 on pages 281 to 284 under the title of "Active-matrix Liquid-Crystal Display with Integrated Scanner Electronics." According to an example reported by Malmberg et al, dual-end drive is applied to a matrix-type liquid crystal display device which comprises 128 scan electrodes and 192 data electrodes, each with an about 0.51-mm center-to-center distance. The scan electrodes are driven by a cooperation of an eight-bit S/R and a sixteen-bit S/R on each side presumably through a distributor or similar device. The data electrodes are driven by a combination of sixteen-bit S/R and a twelve-bit S/R on each side probably through a distributor. In another example, only 232 driver outputs are used where 2,084 outputs would otherwise be necessary.